“This case arises out of a $44-million bribe paid by defendant Ecclestone to defendant Gribkowsky using money supplied by defendants CVC and BayernLB,” the lawsuit's introduction summarizes. “Gribkowsky was prosecuted and convicted of taking the bribe and is now serving an eight-and-a-half year prison sentence. Ecclestone orchestrated and paid the bribe to preserve his status as head of an automobile-racing empire known as 'Formula One.'

“Plaintiff was the high bidder for the purchase of Formula One, but Ecclestone bribed Gribkowsky—using CVC's and BayernLB's money—to steer the sale of Formula 1 to CVC for CVC's and Ecclestone's benefit. Plaintiff has been damaged in an amount exceeding $650 million.”

After explaining the affair's chronology over some 27 pages, it concludes, “Each of CVC, Alpha Prema, Alpha Topco, and Delta Topco extracted billions of dollars from Formula One that do not rightfully belong to them. CVC, Alpha Prema, Alpha Topco, and Delta Topco have profited enormously from CVC's wrongful acquisition of Formula One, which is currently valued at $10 billion.